The Babe and The Bottle
by Jclimactic
Summary: When a familiar face is found dead, is the team from the 12th on the trail of the killer or just another wild goose; an eye for detail provides a critical clue.
1. A Familiar Face

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Castle.**

**[No Spoilers in reviews please...]**

**A/N: My first attempt at a simple case fic, a short (seriously, the whole case is done in three chapters and one day!), but fluffy one; the victim and murder scene were a special request! For the position involved at the beginning, visualize The Rocking Horse, chapter 2 in _Dana Keylits_' "_100 Sex Positions of the Kama Sutra_".**

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Wow. Beckett worked out, but she hadn't pushed her limits like this in a long time, maybe ever. She tipped her head back, lifting the bottle to her lips and gulped down mouthful after mouthful of water; attempting to fight off the dehydration she knew was beckoning her. She felt positively dirty for a moment, sweat dripping down her back, hair sticking to her forehead; slick with sweat all over.

It was all lies of course, and she knew it; pulling the bottle back from her lips, reattaching the top and tossing it aside. She felt spectacular, leaning in again to kiss her fiancé; she was sitting on his lap, his legs crossed beneath her, hers resting against his hips; his hard length still deep within her. Three times in the last hour he'd brought her to screaming orgasm; with his fingers, then his mouth, and just minutes ago with everything he had. He hadn't come yet though, his self-control was driving her insane; her body still tingling, limbs weak, her mind finally returning when he pulled back from her lips.

"Again?"

Kate laughed, she couldn't help it, again? Her chest and stomach were shaking as the near hysteria broke free; the feeling of her muscles clenching around his penetration of her almost enough to push her over the edge immediately.

"Always!"

Rick's hands took a firm grip of her waist and started rocking her against him, encouraging, guiding until she took over the tempo; shifted from rocking to lifting her self up and down. Her hands drifted to his head where she took a firm grip, to anchor herself while every other part of her was moving against him, rubbing, sliding, creating the most intimate and exquisite friction she could imagine.

Quickly their breathing started to lose its control rhythm, from deep breaths being sought to gasped pants getting away from them. His hands slid momentarily from her waist, just high enough that he could brush his thumbs agains nipples, which drew a whine from her and a pleasured hum from him; then those hands drifted back to her waist, pulling her hips even more firmly into contact with him; ensure that at the end of every stroke was met by her swollen clit was ground firmly against his public bone.

There was a ringing in her ears, over the roaring of rushing blood, their almost synchronous pants; a ringing that sounded so familiar. A quick glance to the side showed a nightmare: the clock read 7:10AM, she'd been on call for 10 minutes and next to the clock her phone was glowing, blinking, reading [Dispatch]. Her brain hadn't quite caught up though, she continued to stare at the phone even as she continued to move against him; him within her physically, but more so enmeshed with her soul. Eventually the screen went blank again and she turned back to face Rick, her eyes search out his, hands still clench in his hair, mouth searching out his again as she poured her love into him.

Her body was tingling, from her fingertips threaded through his hair to her toes tucked into the side of his thighs; what he could do to her with a look was crazy, with a touch insane, with his love? It blew her mind on a daily basis. Sometimes she blew his as a reward; a treat she enjoyed just as much as him.

She had to tell him, communicate how special this was, breathless she pulled her mouth free to mumble agent his, "We have.. No.. Sex life.. You know.."

Rick responded with no more control of his breathing than he had, "Feels like.. We do.."

She shook her head, which did truly interesting things to her hips and the feel of him moving within her, "Love... Life.."

Keeping up the twisting motion her head shake had inspired, she felt him change at her words; body tensing, firm planes of muscle taking on a harder look, hands squeezing her waist even more firmly, pulling her down as she sank on top of him, boosting her as she rose up. Legs starting to give out she heard it first, a groan starting in his belly, up through his chest and exiting his mouth as a low moan even as she felt a hard twitch, a spasm of him within her.

That alone was enough, the final straw for this morning of bliss, her body quivered as her pleasure exploded again, this time in response to his. Her cries were choked off, short of breath to support then; his no more than panted groans rather than fully voiced exclamations. From the burning heat where they joined to sparkles flying across her vision; she felt as if she was seeing fireworks from within, as an exploding and spinning Catherine wheel herself; the entire experience made her dizzy and lightheaded.

Still coming down from their combined highs, they both heard the ringing this time; both glanced over at the phone, as it's screen now flashed [Esposito]. Kate flapped her hand in its direction, but lacked the strength to reach or it, looking quickly at Rick, silently begging him to fetch it for her.

Taking it out of the shaking hand offering it to her she quickly pressed [Accept] and tried her best to answer, while still hopelessly, deliriously out of breath, "Beck.. ett.."

"Woah! Boss you ok?"

"Been.. Working.. Out.."

"Ok then. We got a body. Penthouse of The Four Seasons."

"See.. You.. There.. In.. 45.."

She hung up, no breath for a goodbye. They rested together for perhaps a minute, their bodies still connected, loathe to be separated. Time was not in their favor though, not now at least.

Kate eventually pushed herself back from him, their gazes once again locking as she spoke to her, "You shower. I'll put coffee on."

A weak nod was all she could really manage, "Thanks."

After a quick shower she was drying her hair and starting to put on the morning's make-up as Rick moved past and into the bathroom for his chance to wash their blended sweat away.

Since moving into the loft officially six months earlier her occupation of his space had expanded dramatically, from a draw in the dresser and a portion of the closet space to a major takeover. Her shoes consumed three quarters of the closet floor, her clothing had marginalized his; and now three of the four dresser drawers were hers. Of course one of those was entirely Rick's fault; one was her practical underwear, another lingerie. She had always had a collection before, of more special items; but now the range of options was staggering from La Perla, La Bruna, Sarrieri, and more; colors and style to match every occasion.

It had caused a discussion, not quite a fight, when the wisps of lace and silk had begun appearing only a month after she moved in; she had never wanted to be a kept woman, and she told him so.

Kate had raised her voice as she shook a scrap of sapphire blue lace at him, "I am not some bimbo! I don't need this!"

Rick was holding s hands up in a placating manner, "No you don't need it, but you'll look absolutely gorgeous in it!"

"I'm just a show horse for you? That it? I can buy my own underwear Rick!"

"I know you can, I just wanted to buy something special for you, for me too."

"I'm not a kept woman!"

"You know I don't think of you like that! We're getting married Kate, remember? No pre-nup, this is it for both of us; if anything happens to me you get almost everything. I already changed my will!"

"Nothing better happen to you Rick!"

"Nothing planned Kate, but whats's mine is yours, heart, home, money too. Everything, just embrace it."

"I don't want your money!"

"It's part of who I am, part of it because of you; you want to give it all away? I'm going for share everything I have with you, if you don't want the money we can give it away."

They hadn't of course, she'd just learnt to deal with it; he was generous, it was simply part of him, and she loved all of him.

They had a body, a murder to deal with; which meant a long day, chasing leads, building theory, and usually feeling bedraggled by the end of the day. Such a thought usually drove her straight to the comfortable draw, but today, after the morning she'd had, they'd had; well perhaps a treat and some tormenting was in order. Definitely some tormenting was in order, she finished up her hair still in her comfortable robe and waited for Rick to finish his shower.

As he stepped into the bedroom once again, she made sure he could see and she opened her lingerie draw, dropped her robe, leaving her naked as a babe before his eyes, and pulled out a skimpy La Perla lace thong and bra set; bright red, he so loved her in red. She slipped into the items, smoothing them over her skin when finally in place, she found their texture exhilarating. Rick on the other hand found the appearance and feel of them on her to be a serious challenge to his self control; every-time she wore items from that draw.

His gulp was visible as she smoothed everything into place, "Won't those be uncomfortable? Could be a long day."

Her plan was working already, "For me, perhaps a little, but I don't mind; because for you it's going to make for such a hard day, what I have on under my clothes. You knowing but not being allowed to touch."

"That's.."

"Teasing, it's teasing Rick, you knowing I have on your favorite red thong, that you bought for me, that's now my favorite too; that I have it cupping me between my legs. Think on that Rick. Think on that all day."

He was left staring, mouth open for a moment as she subsequently slipped into long slacks, a white tank and a loose white, untucked blouse over the top.

"Come on Castle! We've got to go!

At the use of his 'Cop' name he came a relative blur of motion, dressed in a sapphire blue shirt, which he knew was her favorite color on him, slacks, and slipping into a pair of loafers.

"I'll grab the coffee."

"Thanks!"

With moments they were out of the loft door and claiming into Beckett's cruiser downstairs, she, of course, in the driving seat.

I was like a ritual they had as he whined, "Why won't you let me drive?"

Beckett shook her head as she backed out of the reserved packing space, "Because it's my car Castle, my cruiser. I always drive my car."

And they were off.

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Beckett and Castle rolled up to the front doors of The Four Season, seeing Ryan and Esposito ahead of them entering the building; walking in it was apparent the guys had beaten them by enough that they weren't waiting but had already caught an elevator to the top floor.

Riding their own elevator they ensured to stand well apart, no risk tempting fate with police all over the building; not that anything was hidden any more, but still compromising positions would incur unmerciful teasing.

The penthouse suite had a set of double doors opened wide, with uniformed officers stood to either side onto long access; walking past they both caught tier first glance of the sheer sumptuousness that the suite provided. The slow perusal of the room, taking in all the details, including the room service car with a coffee carafe and assorted fruits, was rudely interrupted by exclamations from what appeared to be the master bedroom.

"Woah!" "Holy shit!"

Ryan and Esposito had clearly made it upstairs, and Beckett hurried over towards the sound of their voices, closely followed by Castle. The scene was unexpected to say the least, Lanie leaning over the body of the victim blocking their view, the guys stood to one side mouths agape, and the crime scene unit picking up items of evidence and carefully recording the locations and descriptions.

"Diapers, bib, bottle, pacifier, our victim is into role playing as a naughty baby?" Castle asked as he watched CSU put them in the evidence bag.

"What did I ever do to deserve this?" Ryan sighed, this was not the kind of case he wants to investigate when inspecting a baby, a properly sized baby.

Beckett ignored the peanut gallery to focus on the relevant details, "Lanie? Got a time of death for us?"

"Girl! I have more than a time of death." Lanie stood as she spoke, backing away from the body.

"Vaughn? Eric Vaughn is our victim?" Castle gaped as he recognized the face of the victim that Lanie had just finished inspecting. The sight was really something to grab attention, his arms spread wide, wrists cuffed with pastel blue leather to the headboard, legs sprawled out before him; his only covering a bright white, oversized diaper and a bottle strapped to his head with the latex nipple still between his slack lips.

Beckett's eyes bugged a little, honestly shocked, gasping, "Eric?"

Castle's head prompted swiveled in her direction, "Eric?"

Correcting herself quickly, she spoke again, more firmly. "Vaughn!"

Lanie waited for their little discussion out before jumping in again, "Yes, Eric Vaughn; time of death based on liver temp between 10PM last night and 2AM."

Beckett moved on to the next logical question, "Who found him?"

Ray filled her in, recapping what he'd gotten for the responding uniforms, "Room service, delivery the breakfast; instructions were to let themselves in and leave the cart if there was no answer; we checked, delivery guy was fresh on shift at 6AM, we'll run the background but he's probably clean."

"Dude said he makes a lot of enemies given his job right? I guess someone actually succeeded." Esposito said.

Ryan carried on the theme, trying to build something, the beginning of a case, "Right, angry business partners, and employees we've already seen, could be another; angry husband or boyfriend too maybe. Loads of suspects."

"Yo Castle! You had bone to pick with him too, where were you last night?" He was smiling, but Esposito couldn't resist the dig.

Castle could take a bit of needling in the best of fun, he could push back too, "In bed Espo, with my fiancé, sleeping for some of it. You slept alone again?"

The grunt told the whole story really, matched by the mumbled response, "Whatever."

Beckett, head back in the game now, treating the body like any other victim, as he truly was once she recovered from her immediate shock, acknowledged the time window and moved on again, "Murder weapon?"

Lanie walked around the bed and pointed to a bottle lying on the floor which the others moved to inspect. It was a champagne bottle, bloody on one side, leaving a smear on the carpet where it had rolled slightly.

Ryan bent to take a closer look, before glancing up, "Maybe his guest last night didn't want any of his champagne?"

Espo shook his head, pointing over to the side of the bed, "No way bro, champagne flutes on the side tables; one of them has lipstick. Definitely looks like he had a female guest."

Caste shook his head bewildered, "It really took lipstick for you to think he had a woman up here with him? He'd cuffed to the bed guys, and we all know he likes the ladies."

"Lanie? Can you send the glasses to the lab, maybe we can get some DNA, and see if they can identify the lipstick too, might be useful."

Castle had moved over to the flute, bending to take a closer look before making his thoughts known, "It's Scarlet Orgasm."

Beckett's voice was clearly shocked, his comments were so inappropriate sometimes, "What!?"

He gestured at the flute, trying to direct her glare away from him, and to the evidence, "The lipstick on the champagne flute, it's Scarlet Orgasm. I recognize it."

Esposito shared a quick glance with Ryan before throwing his hand up, "How do you recognize it? Seriously? How do you do that bro?"

Castle was talking to Esposito, but his eyes were boring into Beckett's, "I have an eye for red. I have a really excellent eye when it comes to red."

Beckett had to admit it, he most certainly did have an eye for red, and maybe her plan to torment him today was backfiring already.

Neither of them had broken the eye contact as he kept talking to her, only to her, despite the others in the room, "I remember the ads, turned out very popular with ladies of a certain skin tone; the marketing pitch was that it was the color thier lips went at that certain..."

There was a time and a place for this type of verbal fore play and eye sex, this was not it, "Castle!"

Lanie was glancing back and forth between the two as they stared into each others eyes, flicking between them like she was attending her U.S. Open at Flushing Meadow, "Girl? You blushing?"

Beckett broke off her eye contact with Castle to glare at her friend, "Lanie!"

Lanie was having none of it, she just shrugged, "Well you are."

Turning to glare at Castle for getting the wrong ball rolling, Beckett knew trying to restore a professional environment was going to be hard when she could still feel the flush on blood in her cheeks, but she had to try, "Well! I think we've got what we can here for now, I'm heading back to the precinct to set up the board; guys can you grab the security footage for the last 24 hours and meet us back there?"

Both Ryan an Esposito were wearing identical, contrived smiles; contrived in the sense they were struggling only to smile and not break out in enormous grins, "Sure thing boss."


	2. It's A Party!

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Castle.**

**[No Spoilers in reviews please...]**

**A/N: Lesson learned, really unpopular for some reason, would love to know what about the summary turned people away; story is finished, so its going up not matter what (three chapters). Writing this (and the other fun, wierds fics) as a break from '****_Changing Circumstances_****', which is a hard, challenging thing for me. Back to that soon though...**

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Once Beckett and Castle reached the precinct they immediately started prepping the murder board, laying out the basics of the time line, and the little evidence they had.

About half way through that endeavor Beckett received a phone call from the crime scene unit on their initial findings. After the recap she shrugged at Castle, "Place was wiped clean, no print in the bedroom, not even Vaughn's."

He could put two and two together with the best of them, "Likely a pro then?"

Beckett nodded, "Probably, amateurs always seem to miss something."

"But why a champagne bottle then? Wouldn't a pro bring a weapon in some sort?"

"You'd think, but maybe somebody was trying to send a message?"

Ryan and Esposito came rushing off the elevator into the bullpen, Ryan sounding excited, "We got the video, and it's good."

Esposito wiggled his hand back and forth, "Bro! Goodish."

"Seriously guys? What does goodish mean?"

"Means we've got video of the killer Beckett, but we can't ID her."

"Show me."

They went into the video suite and Ryan sat in the main chair, "Ok guys, first this one." Hitting play he faster forward on a shot that showed a lot of movement but nothing significant, then as the time stamp hit 10:57PM he pointed to the side of the screen, "See here? It shows the elevator bank display, and right then it the only time the P lit up within our time frame; so our killer probably arrived at the Penthouse then on elevator 3."

Becket gave him a pat not back for that, "Good work Ryan."

"Looking at this other shot we can see the doors to elevator 3, three passengers boarding at 10:54PM; a couple and a lone woman. Don't have a good shot of her there, but we've got a better one."

Castle saw the train of thought, but there were other scenarios, "Hang on a minute, couldn't the killer have gotten on and that woman off on another floor?"

"Bro, we're detectives you know? We did think of that; only one stop, 7th floor, where the couple got off; we checked with them, woke them up, Mr and Mrs Alexander; in town for vacation."

"So this woman is our best suspect? What other footage to you have of her?"

"Well not much boss, she's wearing a big floppy hat sunglasses, keeps her face down. Not a lot to go on, dressed nice from what we can see, attractive, tall."

"Is not much but see what you can pull off in the way of stills ok?"

"Sure."

"Espo, run the financials ok; remember we did it last time and didn't find much even though it was all about embezzlement, so be extra thorough, but fast. This is a high profile case."

They went back the respective desks, Castle and Beckett glancing between each other and the murder board.

"Something feels off Beckett."

"What? The dirty baby thing? It's a thing."

"No, not that; I know it's a thing, saw it on CSI one time; no, Vaughn was clearly expecting the woman, his role play momma or whatever."

"Right, but he got a professional killer instead."

"Exactly."

"Yeah, you'd think he'd have a regular, but maybe not, maybe he hires a pro, an escort pro, and his regular wasn't available?"

"I know it's cliched, but why would a guy like Vaughn hire an escort? He charms women into his bed."

"Yeah. He certainly tries, maybe he's been on a losing streak lately."

"Not according to Page 6, he was out the day before yesterday making splash with yet another of the Maxim girls. Maybe he charms them, then pulls the baby thing when they're in a compromising position?"

"Ok.. Maybe. Bear with me here.."

"I'll be bare with you anytime detective."

"Seriously? Not the time. Anyway, what if one of his dates just had enough? Flipped? They had an argument over diaper color or something and she cracked and hit him? Crime of passion?"

"Angry mother beats toddler to death? Wouldn't be the first time."

"I'll admit it's a stretch but for right now we've got nothing else, just a woman he expected, killing him; angry date makes perfect sense. We just need to find out who he's dating."

Castle chuckled, "He's dating the Maxim Hot 100 Beckett."

"Not helpful Castle."

"Oh, but it is; there's a Maxim party tonight according to Page 6; Vaughn was supposed to make an appearance, a lot of the Maxim girls will be there. Maybe his date."

Esposito had perked up on hearing their discussion, "Maxim Party?"

Beckett rolled her eyes at him, "Yes Espo, there's a Maxim Party."

He yelled out towards the video suite, "Hey Ryan, get out here, back me up! Maxim party bro!"

Ryan joined them, handing over the best still he had captured, and it really wasn't much; face mostly hidden behind large dark glassed and only captured form an angle.

Esposito was eager to hit up the party, check out he view, and it showed, "We could just crash, flash out badges, make it official."

Ryan on the other hand, thought it a terrible idea, "Dude, no way, we're trying to ID a potential killer, don't want to scare anyone off."

Beckett could see it, they all just wanted an excuse to ogle the Maxim girls, but there was a investigation to run, "How are we supposed to ID her Castle?"

"Lipstick."

"Seriously Bro? You going to ask them all to show you thier lipstick?"

"Castle? Really?"

"I'll bet up it's her favorites color, of she's there she'll be wearing it again. I'll be able to recognize it."

Espo was grinning now, "This is so awesome, we're going to a Maxim party!"

Ryan was trying to glare, to calm him down, "How we gonna get in dude? Without giving ourselves away?"

Castle looked between them, glanced and Beckett and reached for his phone as he rose form his chair, "Let me make a call."

They all watched as he wandered off in the direction of the breakdown.

"Hey Paula, I need tickets for tonight's Maxim party."

"Really Rick? Talk about late notice, I tried calling you about it last week but you ignored me, remember?"

"I remember, sorry; but I'm not really doing the party scene right now."

"Then why do you want them? I can get them if I promise your attendance, but otherwise..."

"I'll be the, I'll need four, ok?"

"Ok, dress nice, bring a Sharpie. I'll have the passes couriered to the loft by 5."

"Thanks Paula."

He sauntered back out of the break room, waiting until the rest of the team looked over at him, the grinned widely, "We're in."

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Kate finally made it back to the loft at 6:30PM; leaving the guys at the precinct to keep running financial checks, she'd had to leave though in response to a demanding phone call from Rick telling her she needed the extra time to get ready. They were all planning meeting at the party around 9PM, aware that it wouldn't get really rolling until later, but better to be well in place early just on the chance they caught a break.

Rick had clearly heard her key in the lock, he was waiting for her, dressed casually still, holding two bags, "I got you gifts!"

It was exactly what she'd feared when he'd left the precinct after lunch, feared and hadn't stopped, "Rick..."

"We talked about this before, what's mine is yours, and these are definitely yours; I want you to be the star tonight, you deserve it."

Rolling her eyes at that was unavoidable, "The fact that I'll be with you has nothing to do with it right? No ego boosting going on at all?"

His tone actually, shockingly, appeared to take on a note of shame, "Well.."

"Yeah, that's what I thought." She couldn't help but smile though, "Give me the bags Rick, I've got to do my hair, everything."

It took a while, and it wasn't just Kate taking her time with her hair, Rick had a whole routine to process through too. When done, they stood side by side looking into their floor length mirror; her in, or course, scarlet Valentino with black Christian Louboutin's flashing their own red souls as she walked, him in dark charcoal Armani and an open collared deep blue shirt to bring out his eyes.

Glancing at Kate, then looking once again in the mirror, Rick pronounced himself satisfied, "We look good!"

She laughed at his nodding head, "Yes we do. Yes we do."

"One last gift Kate." Reaching into his jacket pocket he pulled back out a closed hand, holding it close to her before opening it to reveal: lipstick.

"Seriously Rick?"

"Scarlet Orgasm Kate, if you wear it, it'll give the guys an idea what it looks like on the lips of a real woman."

"That the real reason Rick?"

He leaned in to whisper in her ear even they were alone, "Not the only one, the other reason, your skin tone, we'll come back to later okay?"

Kate turned and walked off, unwilling to speak and show that his breath against her ear had made her shaky; no she strutted across the loft well aware that he was watching, before turning her head to call to him as she neared the front door, "Coming Rick?"

As they exited the building Rick starting fidgeting, knowing the last surprise of the evening, or the last he had for Kate, was coming. He knew she saw it when she stopped in her tracks, he'd had the Ferrari brought around, and it was parked straight in front of them: bright red power waiting to be unleashed.

He moved to he passenger door, holding it open for her, red Hermes scarf in hand, but she just shook her head, "Get in, give me the keys. I'm driving."

He shook his head and held the keys behind him, "No Kate, it's my car, I'm driving."

It was definitely true, it was his car, was, not anymore; she was absolutely willing to embrace his ideas now, "Nope. What's your's is mine remember? It's my car too now, and I always drive my car. Give me the keys."

He knew it! Knew it as soon as he though of the idea, "That is so unfair!"

She broke out her big smile for him, the one that made him go weak at the knees, "I'll make it up to you later. You certainly deserve a reward Ricky."

They took the long way to the party, Kate removing the scarf from it's protective position around her hair as they pulled up, Rick slipping his hand off her upper thigh where it had rested just under the hem of her dress.

She looked over at him and winked, "Rick. We need to do that more often. Wow."

He almost looked downcast though, "Kinda sad that the car turns you on more than I do."

After turning over the keys to the valet they joined hands, looking around for the guys, and she pulled his head over to nibble on his ear, "Not even close, don't need to change my underwear now Rick, after we dance it'll be a different story."

They spotted the guys walking and, to their credit, they'd done their best; nice slacks and dress shirts. She glanced over at Castle, yeah, nice, but. They all entered the club, Esposito practically quivering as the past the rope line at security. He regained a little bit of decorum as they moved further in, pulling them all to the side before they got to the bar and dance floor.

"I found something in the financials. He'd been burning cash, lots of it, he's a billionaire on paper; but he was cash poor. Maybe he was trying to rebuild after the embezzlement, it's with forensics now, they'll figure it out."

Beckett was back, "Ok, but that doesn't give us much."

"Wasn't done. About three months ago he got a huge cash injection, over $100 million, from a bank in the Caymans."

Castle hissed in a breath, "Ouch! That means he owed someone, someone big."

Esposito nodded, exactly what he'd been thinking, "Yeah bro, someone who might have wanted their money back. Money he didn't have."

Castle had been so hopeful, a Maxim murder, now it was just some professional killer, how generic, "That'd mean the killer was a pro then, not just an angry girlfriend."

"Probably not guys. Probably not here then."

Ryan was glaring at Espo now, "Which is exactly why you waited until we were all here before you told us! Dude, I've got a six month pregnant wife at home!"

Espo did actually manage to look a little sheepish for a moment, "Sorry Bro."

"Ryan, go home to Jenny, we'll see you in the morning."

"Sure, thanks Beckett."

As Ryan rapidly made his way to the exit, Esposito looked at the other two, "What about us?"

She grinned, "Don't know about you Espo, but I'm going to enjoy the party. Come on Rick, let's dance."

Kate pulled her fiancé out onto the dance floor and wrapped herself in him, arms high and tight around his neck, body pressed against him, "Might be an interesting night after all Rick."

Out of the corner of her eye she saw Esposito head straight for the center of the floor, eyes twinkling; and a hopeful smile as she lost sight of him in a mass of gyrating flesh.

Rick clearly had other things on his mind though, than keeping track of the rest of the team; at this point he thought his mind was probably only capable of one track away. He pulled her tight into him, hands low on her waist, legs shifting slightly outward to give her even more room to move intimately with him.

They danced, though to call it hat would be a disservice to that simple word, dance even after the music stopped, kept their embrace until it started up again. They separated only to collect drinks, neither acknowledging another while the other collected the refreshments. The evening wore on, and neither of them cared.

They were both starting to wind down a little, the long day taking it's toll when Castle leaned down to whisper in Beckett's ear, "She's here."

Beckett twitched just slightly, "Who?"

"Lipstick woman. Behind you. I'm telling you Beckett, I have an eye for red, and that is Scarlet Orgasm."

Beckett turned within the circle of his arms, back now to his chest, ass grinding into his crotch, entirely to maintain their renewed pretense she told herself. Entirely. "Where?"

His mouth was now just below her ear, breath tickling, he could see the light dusting of goosebumps as he spoke softly into her skin, "Ahead, black dress, off the shoulder, red lips."

She continued to move against him, the feeling of him at her back, shielding her from behind momentarily distracting her, until she spotted the woman he was indicating, "Got her. You sure Rick? It's the same shade?"

Arms wrapped around her, he pulled her tighter into him. "Only one here wearing it, other than you at least."

She could feel every inch on him pressed into her, "Could be a coincidence."

He though her skin was delectable, a little nibble wouldn't hurt, "Could be."

She slid her hands to join with his, pressing into her stomach as she ground herself even more firmly back into him, "Might not be though."

Perhaps a small bite, "Might not."

The smallest moan slipped out of her mouth, and she pulled her neck slowly away for his lips, "We have to work now Castle, later. She fits the physical profile, matching lipstick, and I trust you on that, that's enough to bring her in for questioning."

Castle moved his hands to her hips and pushed her slightly away, given them a little separation, a little room for coherent thought to regain complete control.

"Seen Espo?"

Castle shook his head, he'd last seen him dancing with a couple of women, sandwiched, he'd looked very happy.

"I'll text him, and grab us some drinks. Keep an eye on her, discretely."

In Beckett's view, being discreet to not include actually dancing with the suspect; but the time she returned with drinks, water this time, and corralling Espo to to opposite side of the dance floor just in case an intercept was necessary, that's exactly what she found. Castle and their murder suspect dancing not touching, which would have been grounds for later maiming, but dancing together.

Castle saw her approaching and smiled widely, "Kate, this is Natalia; she's a fan, read all my books. Asked me for a dance while you were gone."

He managed to jam a lot of explanation into that short speech, probably in the hope that now she wouldn't kill him laters, "Hello Natalia."

"Hellos Kat." Natalia was Russian apparently, very Russian.

"What brings you to Manhattan Natalia?"

"Bizness. Party. Am model yes."

Natalia's eyes narrowed as if she'd made a connection, a realization, "You Nikki Heat yes? Detective."

Busted. "Detective Kate Beckett actually, but yes."

Natalia turned away, quickly moving across the dance slow away from them; straight toward Esposito, who put his arms out a little as she approached and slowed.

Beckett was quickly behind her, keeping a little distance, speaking clearly, "мы должны задать вам несколько вопросов."


	3. An Eye for Red!

**Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own Castle.**

**[No Spoilers in reviews please...]**

**A/N: No point dragging it out right? That's all folks! First attempt at a case fic, though a simple, silly one at that; so hopefully it wasn't too dreadful. I concede there is more smut than case in this chapter but, whatever... **

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They had loaded Natalia into the back of a black and white, Esposito riding along, taking possession of her small clutch; the guys' cruiser residing with Ryan at home. He wasn't too happy to be told they'd actually found their target and needed to return to the precinct; but he said he'd join them there in a hour.

The three of them were now watching their suspect from observation, still all dressed in their party best. Beckett had just slipped in after taking a bathroom break to freshen up, dipping her hand quickly into Castle's jacket pocket as she stood beside him. Search after her hand had left he knew exactly what it was she'd left; fabric, lace, soft, a texture he'd recognize anywhere, damp.

Espo leaning against the wall by he glass gave them the quick run down of what he'd found, while they run back to the loft to switch cars; neither wanting to change cloths though.

"So, unlicensed .22 in the clutch, so we can charge her for that and hold; do that and it's Miranda time. 'Course if she's our pro she ain't gonna talk anyway. Nothing yet connecting her to Vaughn except Castle's ID of the lipstick, and sorry Bro but that ain't going to get us a conviction."

Castle was staring straight, appeared to be a little tense, lips pursed, "Vaughn needed money, cash, didn't want to go to any of his usual investors because it would show weakness, the sharks would smell blood. He was desperate though. We also have a Russian pro, who is a pretty good candidate. She live here?"

Espo shook head, "Moscow, we did get a hit on her name, from immigration. I got the complete name from the party organizers."

Beckett was looking at Castle, who had turned to face her now, "Russian killer, Moscow based; large sum of money. One guess?"

Espo filled the last blank, "Russian Mob. But why? Why would Vaughn go to those guys, they don't mess about."

"Not like he lacked self-confidence, maybe too much, thought he could get away with anything. Convince anyone to do what he wanted."

Remaining silent through that piece of psychoanalysis, Castle still thought there were huge gaps in the theory, "A pro, with a .22, why'd she hit him with a bottle?"

"Why don't we ask her? Coming Castle?"

They entered the interrogation room and sat before Natalia, who took one glance at them before saying one word, "Loyyer."

Beckett nodded,"We can call you lawyer for you, but why don't I just talk first, you don't have to say anything."

Let the bluff begin, Beckett knew she was a great liar in the box, thought a carefully crafted story was their best chance of a break, "So, we know about Vaughn, the money from Russia, that he was refusing to repay; that really upset your boss I bet, didn't it Natalia?" She held up a and, indicating that she didn't want Natalia to answer that.

"So they sent you. To send a message, I'm sure it'll come out, or already is out in the right circles, that he took money, didn't pay, and now look at him. Dead."

"Soon enough Natalia this is all going to be out of my control, foreign national kills a well known figure like Vaughn, embroiled in a conspiracy? The FBI, Interpol, everyone is going to be all over this tomorrow; lots of higher ups. Connected people, maybe people connected to you boss. Think he's going to let you stay in custody? Alive at least. Your hours are numbered Natalia, a ticking clock."

Natalia had moved, leaned forward a little, squinted her eyes, "Deal?"

"Depends on what you know, enough and I think immunity, protection, it could all be on the table."

"Know a lot."

Beckett grinned, maybe she'd get away with Vaughn's murder, but it'd be a small price to pay to get at a major international criminal organization. She'd always fought to be the voice of the victim, but in Vaughn's case she'd make an exception.

"Tell me."

Natalia smiled for the first time since they'd been in the room, "Deal first. Written. Signed."

It took a while, pulling an assistant district attorney and a US attorney out of bed, but a deal was cut; she would be turned over to the FBI in the morning. Leaving only a few more minutes for Beckett and Castle to get an answer to the question they both wanted.

"Natalie, out of curiosity, why the bottle? You had a .22 in your clutch."

"Bah! He irritate me. Has trick with bottle yes? Play for sympathic. Did it to friends, lured them. Nasty man to my friends. Trick, use, move to next one."

"When he pops the cork and nearly hits his eye?" Beckett carefully kept her eyes on Natalia, not looking over at Castle, though she could feel his gaze had shifted to her.

"Da. Stupid trick. Did for me when arrived before changed. Idiot way open champagne. Model, I know. Seen done proper many time."

"What next?"

"Cuffed to bed. Asked to pass him bottle, so attached baby one to head, hit with other. Poetic. Ha!"

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It was 3AM when they finally made it back to the loft, eyes slightly red from the long day. They had it to themselves; Alexis off at Columbia, Martha now with an apartment closer to her studio.

As soon as they were through the door Rick pressed Kate back into it, pulling her red thong from his jacket pocket, "This was cruel, putting these in my pocket like that."

Eyes twinkling she pecked him on the lips before responding, "Just wanted to show you what dancing with you does to me; that's what you do to me, not your car Rick."

He put both hands on her waist then, lifted her just enough to force her to stretch onto tip-toes, and pushed his entire upper body into hers; the air was driven out of her lungs in a woosh as his mouth claimed hers. His lips ground into hers, sliding across the lubricant of her lipstick; as she started get a little lightheaded she could feel the Scarlet Orgasm smearing.

Still holding her up on her toes, Rick withdrew, whispering to her, "I'd like to see that color elsewhere Kate."

Kate absolutely knew he could feel the shiver run through her, knew; then saw in his eyes the confirmation, the fractional narrowing, the slight pursing of his lips. She'd been aching for hours, the dancing positively erotic; not something either of them would have participated in of they'd known that the precinct was their destination for the following hours. She loved to tease him, loved to torment, but not like this, not when it left her so frustrated too.

Rick relished the shiver like a bouquet of a fine wine; the precursor to the main event, the swirl of red, the legs, the taste, the feel of it in his mouth, and lastly the long finish. He could feel his mouth start to water in anticipation.

He leaned in again, ghosting his lips against hers as he spoke, "What do you want me or do Kate?"

The tiniest of movements accompanied her response, "Love me."

"That I can do Kate." He pressed forward again, mouth to mouth, pushing his tongue past her waiting lips to engage with hers, to twist around it counterpart and experience the taste of her. There was her underlying sweetness, always present, always, welcome; but instead of the normal notes of coffee he found bourbon, smokey hints of the drinks they had shared at the party. He inhaled the scent filling her mouth, drawing her tasted into him; and was met by a moan and her agile tongue lapping the taste of his own bourbon from him.

Rick moved his hands from her waist, one moving behind her back to hold her against him, the other lower, to the hem of her dress where he then started sliding it up underneath. Along the outside go her smooth, toned thigh; rippling his fingers as he went, feeling the small quivers in her muscles as he reached higher.

Dropping his mouth to her neck, he mumbled into her even as he sucked and nibbled her skin, "After the scent, then the swirl Kate, do you want to be swirled love?"

He didn't wait or a response before sliding his hand around to cup her between her legs, grateful the she had removed the only potential lacy barrier earlier, but he felt her nod as he reached his destination. She wasn't damp anymore, she was far more than damp; drenched, his entire palm soaked with her essence as soon as he reached his target. Rick ran two fingers through her folds, from deep between her legs to the pinnacle where he found his true target; the sweeping motion was joined by Kate pushing herself onto his hand and letting out sounds of blissful gratitude as his fingers started curling and swirling around her peaked bundle of nerves.

Kate cried out to him, "So good! Waiting all night!"

He pressed harder, firmer, slid his fingers around her; she quickly started to respond more than vocally, twisting her hips in counterpoint to his fingers. She grabbed his hair, hard with both hands and pulled his mouth from where it was nibbling her neck back up to hers, where she growled into his mouth, "Need to come. Make me come. Please!"

The she was swiping her tongue against his lips and setting an even more demanding pace with her hips.

Rick quickly realized the nights delays had been as much, or more, frustrating for Kate as the had for him. She was possessed, he could just hold his hand still and watch if he so wished, but he didn't; he was very much inclined to participate.

He shifted, moving two fingers down and bringing his thumb up to continue his swirl, just the beginning of what he had planned. As soon as he slipped those two fingers deep into her, he felt her inner muscles contract, almost sucking at his fingers as her mouth had his tongue just moments earlier, that experience stopped by her repetitive cries, "Ah! Yes! Ah! Rick!"

The experience was mesmerizing, her whole body shaking, head thrown back, as she came; hands clenched so tight in his hair she was probably pulling some out.

She was almost shocked by how things had gone so fast, the mountain of frustration from a day tormenting herself with lingerie as much as Rick, the lipstick drawing her mind back to one thing, the dancing, slipping her thong into his jacket; it had all come crashing back as soon as his fingers slipped between her legs. The only thing keeping Kate upright was the reassure of Rick's hand behind her back and his body pushing her into the door. Her legs were shaking, and she knew he wasn't done, not by long shot.

"Ready Kate?"

She shook her head, couldn't stand up on her own. Again? Her heart would stop.

"That's alright Kate, let me do all the work."

At least she could speak one word, one breathy word, "Again?"

He chuckled at her, "Yes Kate, again; I'm not keeping score."

Kate didn't think of it as keeping in score; well not exactly, just keeping count, and sometimes he turned her brain into such mush that she simply lost track.

"Next come the legs Kate, the longer the better, as they drape down the side of the glass."

She honestly had no idea what he was talking about, but quickly lost interest as he lowered himself to the floor, and lifted one leg over his shoulder to hang relaxed down his back. He pushed the skirt of her dress up, holding it with both hands against her hips, leave her bare before him; feeling wanton she pulled her other leg over his opposing shoulder, balancing act aided by Rick's grip on her hips, which she then pushed towards his mouth.

"Next is the taste." She knew what that meant.

She felt his tongue run lightly from her entrance to her still swollen clit, then he did it again, stroking between her folds with his tongue; tasting her, but giving no more than a frustratingly gentle pressure.

Even as he continued he spoke, head buried between her legs, tongue between her folds, he held a conversation, he was maddening, "The mouth feel is so important too don't you think?"

"Yes... I love the feel of you in my mouth too Rick..."

His whole mouth was on her now, tongue pressed at between those selfsame folds he was stroking before; he wasn't teasing any more, he was feasting on her.

It was a struggle, but she tried to encourage, to urge him on with her words, "Hmm.. The musky taste of you.."

His lips were pulls tugging at hers, sucking at her, teeth scraping slightly against her clit, triggering sharp intense shots of pleasure, almost to much, to shoot from where his mouth connected with her straight to be chest: heart beating at a thunderous pace in her ears, breasts aching, nipples bullet hard.

"Love.. The feel of your thickness on my tongue.."

She tried to pull the bodice of her own dress down, but it was trapped, to much of her weight pressed against the door; instead she had to settle for grasping her own breasts through two layers of clothes. It was not the same as his hands on her, but she wouldn't trade anything for his head between her legs now.

"How you twitch.. When I suck.."

He was sucking her now, concentrated, powerful; drawing blood from all over her body, her chest, stomach and lower flushing a deeper and deeper red.

"Love.. Your taste.."

She was twisting her nipples brought her dress and bra; then his tongue was thrust into her and she fell off the edge of the world. Kate knew she was shaking, muscles spasming, her hips continuing to twitch against him mouth; she'd lost control; truly lost control of her body as the burning heat of ecstasy flowed through her veins.

The roaring sound of the water rushing over the edge with her, the weightlessness of open space, the complete lack of air in her lungs; she was free, not a care in the world, carried away by the mouth of Rick Castle. The darkness of space surrounded her...

"Come back..."

"Come back to me..."

"Come back to me Kate..."

Rick watched as the glazed look in Kate's eyes gradually faded; he'd lowered her gently from her precarious loose limbed position, and was now holding her in his lap; calling to her.

He watched a smile spread across her face, gradually transforming into a goofy grin, "Hi!"

Rick couldn't not laugh at that, she looked drugged, "You okay there?"

Her head bobbed, "Yup! Wanna blowjob? Huh?"

Rick gapped, Kate wasn't normally shy, but nor was she normally quite so forward; she scrambled off his lap, limbs loose, with a childlike lack of grace; pulling at his hands as she stood.

"Come on! Bedroom!"

Rick was trying to stand, but her constant tugging made it difficult, "Give me a sec, I'm coming Kate."

She danced away from him, her dress now covering her completely again as she backed towards the bedroom, responding in a sing song voice, "You will be!"

He finally made it to his feet just as she stopped momentarily in the office doorway, looking at him over her shoulder and she reached back, pulled down the zipper of her dress, letting it fall to a pool at her feet before giggling and stumbling into the bedroom, wrapped now in only one scrap of red lace around her chest, still wearing her heels.

Rick practically ran, ignoring his pained knees, across the loft and into the bedroom only to be met with that last piece of lace flung in his face, immediately followed by the lithe body of his fiancé. He caught her, hands reaching around and touching nothing but bare flesh.

"You okay Kate?" He had to ask, as much as he loved her, he always had to be sure, never wanted to take advantage.

"Beyond. Beyond okay Rick. God I love you so much." She was kissing him, like her life depended on it. "But you have on clothes!"

She dropped to her feet in front of him, still looking him in the eye due to the heels; she began removing his clothes. Sliding the jacked off to drop to the floor behind him, the started to unbutton his shirt.

"You know what blue does to me? It hurts me Rick. Makes me so tense inside. I love it, but then can't wait to get it off you." She struggled with one of the button, slowed down, carefully undid it, "Wouldn't want to damage it though, got keep it safe so you can wear it again. So I can take it off again."

Rick watched her pull his shirt wide, shoving it down his arms and attaching her mouth to his collar bone, sucking, moaning biting. "I love the taste of you Rick!"

He took hold of her shoulders and pushed her backward, forcing her to sit on the edge of the bed, "Let me take care of the rest ok? I have a story I'm telling, you'll play along right? The long finish is around the corner Kate."

Her knees were bouncing, impatience in every movement, "Strip." He did.

As he approached her, now naked too; she reached out for him, but he captured her hands in his. "No Kate, this ends long and slow with me in you; not in your mouth, as much as I sound like a completely fool right now."

She'd clearly regained all her mental faculties as she responded, "Whatever you want Rick. I just want you. Whatever you want."

He pulled her up into his arms, nothing but skin contact for each of them; they both paused momentarily to experience the feeling, a renewal of their morning together, separated by a long day of frustration and the recent spectacular consummation of their shared feelings.

Rick pulled them both down on to the bed, rolling until he was situated roughly in the middle, with Kate sprawled atop him. Their hands and mouths roamed, bite driven shivers drawing hums and moans; each pulling the other, pushing, nudging for position.

He finally managed to pull Kate's knees up, until she was kneeling above him, and whispered, "This what you had in mind Rick?"

They moved simultaneously, both seeking the same thing: connection. To Rick it was simply completeness, where he belonged; a long day of red frustration, teasing, and desire finally need with the intimate connection he only ever experienced with Kate.

Sinking into the warmth of her, feeling how completely drenched she was because of him; it made control so incredibly difficult, he closed his eyes and tilted his head into the pillow just trying to hold on.

"I got you Rick, relax," Kate set a maddeningly fast pace, bouncing up and down; squeezing him tightly with clenched muscles with her, all in one continual devastating rhythm.

"Fuck! Feels good Rick."

Finally he gather enough control to open his eyes, and what he saw almost made him close the again; Kate pounding her self on him, one hand cupping a breast, the other between their joined legs; her eyes were on his face though, and a smile popped up as she saw his eyes open.

"Slow Kate."

She narrowed her eyes, shook her head, "Fast! Waiting all day!"

"Love me Kate..."

As soon as he said it her paced slowed, shifting to a gentle rocking ballad rather than the pounding driving beat of hard rock; she took both his hands an drew them to her chest, holding them, palms pressed against her erect nipples.

"Like this?"

"Close, lean back Kate, let me see everything."

She released his hands, leaned back and placed her on his thighs; she was once again completely open to him; legs spread wide around his hips, where he penetrated her now front and center in his line of sight.

Rick watched her start to lift and lower her hips again, the different angle pressing him within her in new and amazing ways. He placed his hands on her thighs, living them up until his thumbs were brushing against her where he slid deep into her; he massaged her, pressing into her wet flesh pushing her harder against his within her, moving one to slide over her clit, not hidden from view in this position, but bright red, standing at attention.

Such a simple thing as a single touch drew a small scream, a hesitation in her movements; resumed with gusto when he moved his digit back to a simple massage pattern.

"Slow Kate, a long slow finish."

Rick wrapped his hands around her hips, guided her back to a slower pace; then resumed his own slow stoking of her; he knew he was already sweaty, and the glisten of penetration began to show on her body, all accompanied by the beautiful flash of her skin.

"More!.. Faster!.. Please Rick!.. So Close!"

"Think.. I'm.. Not?"

"Know.. You.. Are!"

On her next down thrust he pushed his thumb inside too, joining it with his cock inside her; the reaction was unsurprisingly instantaneous.

A shudder ran throughout her body, the muscles inside her locked tight about him; she screamed too, not a quiet control exclamation but a full voiced scream that bounced echoes off the walls.

Joining in with his other hand on her clit he pushed and pinched, throwing every sensation he could at her; not trying to slow the acceleration of her gyrations now. He pulled the thumb out from within her to be met with a moan, but now he could feel he around him, fluttering as the orgasm they had both been waiting or approached rapidly.

Suddenly she stopped, body going rigid, her inner grip on him shifting to an almost sucking experience as her muscles clenched, released, clenched, and released; almost voiced whispers escaping her, "Yes. Yes. Yes."

Rick could hold off no longer, the final grasping, the flush of red all over her body pushing him over too; he came within her, an explosion of release, hours of tension flowing out of him and into his love.

They simply rested in the moment, after shocks, twitches, all the pleasurable murmurs they shared.

At last he regain his solid ground, saw Kate still sitting above him, still moving occasionally as her body twitched; she was flushed red, from high on her chest where he could just see the dusky red of her still erect nipples, down across her pink blushing belly; and finally down between her still sprawled open legs, where so much blood had flowed to engorge the flesh, leaving a scarlet tint to her skin.

"That is the color Kate, the color I've been waiting all day to see on you."


End file.
